Exiled Elephants of the Channel Islands, California

Looking seaward from the strand at Santa Barbara, there may be discerned on a clear day one or more of the insular masses that skirt this portion of the coast-line of southern California. Extending from west to east the Santa Barbara or Channel Islands, as they are called, include San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Anacapa. The marine passages or channels which separate from each other the individual members of this group range in width from three to five miles and in depth from 17 to 110 fathoms. Between the islands and the mainland is the Santa Barbara channel which, opposite Santa Rosa, has a width of 29 miles and a maximum depth of 356 fathoms. In a southeasterly direction this channel becomes narrower and shallower. Opposite Anacapa its width is reduced to approximately 12 miles, while the depth here is for the most part less than 100 fathoms.